The List
by Moxie-Proxie
Summary: He’s a sucker for a girl in tears. Goes straight to the heart he keeps telling himself is made of stone. [Post 7.17 Grace Under Fire]


He's a sucker for a girl in tears. Goes straight to the heart he keeps telling himself is made of stone. But when she looks at him with those big, wet brown eyes he has to wonder why the hell Brewer let her go. She's so beautiful, a true princess looking for a prince, and he's still just a frog. The kiss, it's hardly long enough for him to analyze really. It's not like she pins up against the wall, it's simple and innocent. Uncomplicated. And it surprises him that weeks later he's still thinking about it. At the wedding, he wants to tell her so many things; how beautiful she looks in that dark purple dress, her hair all piled up. How he can't stop thinking about her. He wishes he'd pulled her away from that glass of bubbly she'd been nursing and asked her to dance. Just so he'd have an excuse to hold her.

Sitting in the dark car at the movie, trying not to brood over everything that's gone to hell since Alex left, he wishes for the simplicity of that day in the barn. To hold her hand, kiss her like that again. Like he's still innocent and not the playboy. To enjoy the warmth of her body tucked up against him. Like she belonged there. If only he could stop tripping over his ego long enough not to say something asinine. But she's here with him now, and that must mean something.

He doesn't know how to get her attention. He's never been good with the small details when it comes to relationships, and that's what she treasures. Two years and still, he fidgets like a school boy at the canyon that seems to divide mates from something more. So when he finally makes a move it's not grand gestures. There is no room filled with flowers she's allergic to and thankfully no mud is involved in the question he's asking. Just a dozen red roses on the night-table, with a envelope stuck in them. He hides as she walks back to her room. Waiting. Hoping. And when he hears the screen-door slam he sneaks up to the window to watch. She stops in the middle of the room, she's spotted the roses. Covers a smile with her hand as she touches the name on the envelope. _Katie_. He's the only one that gets to call her that, and it still sends a zip of pride up his spine. Waiting for her to open the note feels like torture, but finally she sits on the bed that used to be Jodi's and opens it. Pulls out the piece of paper. He already knows what's written on it, not much because he's never been particularly good at using his words, but he tried for her. It's a list. All the reasons he wants to be with her, written out there for her to see.

Reasons why I want to be with you:

1. Come to the door. I am standing behind it.

He's standing there, hands pressed against the screen, when she looks up. The letter gets left on the bed, lovely though it is, she wants to hear him say the words out loud. Until he says them, it's just words in her head. She doesn't say a word as she walks over, never breaking eye contact. Nothing separating them now except a thin screen with an a bit of wood.

"What's the last reason, Riley?" the tears have crept into her voice against her will. Her hands are shaking and it's everything she can do not to shove them in her jeans pockets to hide it.

"I love you," he said.

"Riley-"

"I'm not done yet," he smiles, pulling out another piece of paper from his back pocket, "see that list I gave you, it's just the reasons I want to be with you. This list here, it's all the reasons I love you. Everything I love about you, about myself when I'm with you, Kate."

She can hardly contain her smile as the tears started making tracks down her cheeks. Her insides felt like they're shaking, she would've never imagined that Riley could make her feel like this.

"I'm just gonna do the top five..."

She can only nod and smile.

"Number five, I love the way you laugh. You laugh with your whole body, your head tossed back and you get those adorable crinkles, and the way you smile is just... brilliant." He pauses, meeting her eyes for a brief moment before continuing, "I love listening to you sing, you have a wonderful voice - even if you're too shy to share it sometimes. Three, I love the way you're hand feels in mine. When I'm near you, everything in me just ... _settles_. I feel more like myself when I'm around you. Two, I love you because you have faith in me, you believe I can be more than just some ex-military smuck. You believe in me, even when I don't know how to believe in myself. One, I love you because ..." he trailed off, dropping the paper and looking into her eyes.

"What?" she whispered.

"Kate..." he yanks open the door and closes the space between them. His hands cupping her face, thumbs stroking her cheeks, "I love you so much, Katie. More than I ever thought I could. You're my mate-"

"I thought that was, Patrick," she smiled.

"No," he chuckled, "Patrick is a friend, don't me wrong. But you, you're the one I wanna come home to at the end of a long day. You're the one I wanna kiss every morning. I wanna carry you when you can't stand, I wanna cook meals with you, and do laundry, and know you're gonna be there at night. I wanna get mad at you but still love you, and sometimes I just wanna pretend to fight just so we can do the fun making up bit..."

She chuckled at that, at his cheeky smile. His arms around her waist, her arms around his neck. And that's when she realized it. They fit. In a way that she never had with Dave, and Riley hadn't with Jodi. Tucked up tight with him, it felt like two pieces of the same puzzle coming together. Standing this close, everything felt like it was blurring together. His eyes and his smile, everything she'd ever wanted was in her arms.

When he cupped her face, the touch of his workman's hands was gentler than she would've expected. His mouth soft and warm, comfortable. It wasn't a wild kiss, instead he was holding her. Truly holding her. It felt so comfortable, folded in his arms, her head now tucked under his chin. His hands stroking up and down her back.

"I could stay like this all day," his voice rumbled through them both.

She could've too. In the quiet of the moment, she was beginning to picture a future with this man. A slow blooming sort of love, that took it's time and didn't play games. A love like Nonna had. Like she hoped Jodi has now.

"Riley?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

He doesn't reply right away. Kisses the top of her hair and holds her tighter, and she can imagine what he's thinking. Jodi and Dave, they were stepping stones. But this is the love she was meant to find. This is where she belongs.

"I love you too, Kate," he whispered.

"Katie," she smiles into his neck. She loves the way he says it. Like she was special, not like she's the kid sister next-door.

"I love you, Katie," he chuckles.

He holds her like he has nothing better to do today, because chores can wait for five minutes. It's when he's stroking her back that he notices the piece of paper sticking out of her back pocket.

"What's this?" he pulls it out.

"You're not the only one who made a list."

And he just has to laugh when she gives him that big mischievous smile, because it's just so... Katie.


End file.
